Border security measure opened to wide-ranging changes

House leaders will allow wide-ranging amendments on border-security legislation expected on the floor Thursday after conservative Republicans who want stricter immigration controls threatened to sink the bill.

To head off a situation where rank-and-file Republicans would vote against the rule to move to consideration of the bill, leadership is expected to provide for an open rule with a generous number of amendments. That list could include hot-button topics such as ending birthright citizenship for children born in the United States -- amendments that might not pass but are sure to spark intense debate.

Conservatives, led by Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., want the votes on amendments that would place even tighter restrictions on immigration, which House leaders have been hesitant to allow for fear of putting members on the record on politically difficult issues. But if they refused to permit such amendments, the Republicans could join Democrats to defeat the rule, effectively killing the legislation for the year.

"If Democrats vote in lockstep, it is entirely likely there would be enough votes to defeat the rule," said Paul Egan, director of government relations for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

The bill, written by Homeland Security Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., and Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., calls for increased security at the borders and tougher enforcement of immigration laws. Some conservatives in Tancredo's 92-member House Immigration Caucus say it does not go far enough.

Tancredo wrote last week to the House Rules Committee seeking a rule for the Sensenbrenner-King bill that would permit debate on a laundry list of amendments that include ending birthright citizenship and making English the official language.

"While not all of these solutions will become law, at this critical juncture, I believe it would be in the best interest of the American people for each proposal to be given an up-or-down vote," Tancredo wrote.

A Tancredo spokesman said Tuesday, "From what we've heard from leadership, many of our big-ticket items may get votes." Those include provisions included in the "CLEAR Act" that would authorize local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.

A restrictive rule faced other opposition as well. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., who favors a broader immigration overhaul that includes a guestworker plan not in the House bill, plans to vote against the rule if it does not allow debate on a guestworker amendment, a spokeswoman said.

"All the pieces of the puzzle are not included in this bill, and that's what his amendment would do," she said. GOP leadership aides said today there was no indication that leaders would pull the bill from the floor this week. "I still have every expectation this will get done," one aide said Tuesday.

Depending on the number of amendments and hours set for debate, the final passage vote could spill over to Friday. The Senate does not plan to take up an immigration bill until early next year.